Soda crystals: your eco-friendly degreasing ally

One of the must-haves for green cleaning is the famous soda crystals.

Excellent degreasers, they are mainly used in bathroom and kitchen products, as multi-purpose cleaners or dishwashing products, among others.

By the way, what is this famous soda crystal?

Soda ash, soda ash, soda crystals, crystallized soda: all the same mineral. Manufactured in Western Europe from common natural materials (chalk, salt), they are calcined (sodium carbonate) and crystallized soda ash.

Is it the same as baking soda or caustic soda? No!

At first glance, baking soda and soda crystals look the same: a white powdery mineral. But watch out!

Soda crystals have a much more basic pH and are therefore more irritating than baking soda. They are totally unsuitable for consumption, and should be handled with care and under well-ventilated conditions.

They are not, however, as dangerous as the caustic soda, or sodium hydroxide, used in soap manufacture. Caustic soda, which is extremely corrosive, should not be used in household cleaning products, but only in the manufacture of soap, and only with training in its use.

In terms of use and application…

It can be used to clean, degrease and disinfect without excessive scrubbing. Soda crystals are extremely versatile and highly effective! Environmentally friendly, it’s the product of choice as a powerful degreasing agent and multi-purpose cleaner.

Its degreasing power makes it particularly interesting in your dishwashing liquid or cake dish! Few natural substances can match its anti-fat effect.

This water-soluble mineral powder cleans, deodorizes and saponifies grease. Its alkaline (basic) pH neutralizes acids, descales and dissolves fats.

• It can be used to clean enamelled surfaces (bathtub, WC, washbasin…),marble, worktops, hobs or sinks, and is extremely effective. It can also be used to clean heavily soiled surfaces such as hoods, dustbins, oven doors, toilets and refrigerators.

• It can be used to unclog plumbing (clogged with organic matter) in place of baking soda. Place 2 tablespoons in the drain, sprinkle with white vinegar, leave to react for a few hours or overnight. Then rinse with 1 liter of boiling water.

• In home detergents, its softening power enhances the effectiveness of the usual cleaning agents, especially when the water in your home is very hard.

• This makes it a good ally against limescale for softening laundry and maintaining washing machine and dishwasher pipes.

• For DIY, soda crystals make it easy to remove wallpaper and old paint.

Cake recipe

Fancy a little recipe? Make your own dish cake (that foams and removes grease!)

Here we share our recipe for washing-up cake made with soda crystals. It’s gentle on the skin and develops a lovely lather, while being a great degreaser for your handmade dishes.

In your cake dish, you’ll find..:

• Water!
• Citriccitric acida weak acid similar to vinegar that removes traces of limescale and adds shine. In your cake dish, it will also act as a pH corrector to improve skin tolerance. Read a whole article on citric acid here!
• From soda crystals that remove grease, discussed at length here 🙂
• From SCS(Sodium Coco Sulfate) as asurfactant, or detergent (the substance that traps grease). Of plant origin and derived from coconut oil, it isvery well tolerated by the skin. It is used in formulas for solid shampoos, dermatological lotions or cake dishes, providing a rich, creamy lather.

You could replace it with SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate), which has just as strong detergent power and is milder, but we’ve opted for SCS, which is more economical when it comes to making a cleaning product. Nevertheless, if you have SCI on hand, it will work just fine.

It is well tolerated by the skin, cleansing without aggression. We also appreciate its rich, soft and abundant foam.

Above all, protect your respiratory tract and mucous membranes when handling SCS and SCI (mask and ventilation hood), as these substances are extremely volatile and irritating. Once your product is dry, the cake dish is safe to use.

Dish cake recipe. You will need :

• 100g of SCI (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate) – available here
• 18g water
• 10g citric acid – available here
• 15g soda crystals
• also available here
• A small saucepan
• A bowl and a tablespoon
• 150ml ramekin mould or wide-mouth jar

How to proceed

Pour the SCS into a bowl, add the water and heat over a bain-marie.

Mix together, mashing with a spoon until you obtain a soft paste.

Remove from the heat and gradually add the citric acid, then the soda crystals, while stirring.

Fill your container tightly and leave to dry and harden for a few hours.

Use

Scrub your moistened brush or sponge, work up a lather and wash your dishes as usual.

After use, allow to air dry.

Don’t forget to drain the water from the pan, as a permanently wet cake will melt more quickly.

Alternatives to homemade

If you’re in a hurry, you can try out our ready-to-eat cake, handmade in the French-speaking part of Switzerland: here.

And we’ve added it to our range of ready-to-use kits, with all the ingredients to make a few cake dishes and the recipe sheet to go with it.

And finally, a few precautions…

Soda crystals should be handled with care. They are irritating to the skin and respiratory tract!

When making your products, stand under the stove hood and avoid contact of the concentrated powder with your skin. Keep out of reach of small hands and away from moisture.